RK HIV AIDS Research and Care Centre, a not for profit organisation taking healthcare to the grassroots, is planning to provide one lakh women in Maharashtra with health skill development training over the period of five years to cater to healthcare needs of people.
Allied health professionals, part of healthcare team, play a crucial role in healthcare delivery. The increasing disease burden and shortage of doctors have made it necessary to empower allied healthcare professionals to reduce burden of healthcare on medical professionals. This will enable doctors to focus on more critical patients. Considering the significant role played by allied healthcare professionals in ensuring wellbeing of patients, it is necessary to train human resource for the same to improve the quality and accessibility to healthcare service, said chairman of RK HIV AIDS Research and Care Centre, Dr Dharmendra Kumar.
Currently India produces 30,000 ANMs (auxiliary nurse midwifery) from 1,300 schools. The country is still facing severe shortage of doctors, nurses and midwives, which is presently half of the norm of 24.5 healthcare professionals per 10,000 populations.
With an aim to meet shortage of paramedical staff to certain extent, we have embarked on an initiative to develop healthcare skills of women, he said.
Females aged 18-35 years having class X pass are eligible for one year health skill training which will be at par with ANM training. The training programme will be kicked off at Swasth Zindagi, the world’s largest medical camp to be held on February 19, 2017 at MMRDA Grounds, BKC in Mumbai. The programme will be launched by Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Once launched, the training programme will gradually be started at district level in the state. There will be nominal fees charged from participants.
On completion of the training, candidates will receive certificates and will be able get employment at hospitals, home healthcare providers etc. RK HIV AIDS Research and Care Centre has already received training approval from Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurships.
The NGO is also set to launch similar training programmes for one lakh women in Gujarat at a mega health camp in Surat to be held on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31, 2017.
Considering the severe shortage of hospital bed in India, it is also planning to set up 250 bedded 100 hospitals in the country on public partnership model.
Indian hospital bed to population ratio is the lowest among all BRICS countries with additional requirement of 0.5 million beds to reach the target of 500 beds per one million people.